Revs’ Kevin Alston on leave to fight leukemia

Credit: Unknown

Kevin Alston, right.

Revolution defender Kevin Alston has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team to receive treatment for a form of leukemia.

Alston, 24, received a diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia last week and shared the news with his teammates during a team meeting yesterday morning. An undisclosed course of treatment will keep Alston away from the Revs for an undetermined period of time, but he does expect to return at some point, according to a statement issued by the club.

“He’s been great, considering the news he has received,” Revolution general manager Michael Burns said. “We’ve been informed that it is one of the most treatable forms of leukemia. Kevin has our full support. He met with his teammates this morning. Obviously, they were shocked to hear that news. We’re all hoping that he’s going to make a full recovery, health-wise, and, hopefully, he’ll be back on the soccer field at some point.”

The path toward a diagnosis started when Alston told the Revs medical staff he wasn’t feeling well during a March 30 match with FC Dallas. Coach Jay Heaps noted after the game that he discussed taking Alston off during the match due to his condition, but the left back managed to last 88 minutes before exiting. Alston underwent a medical examination, including a round of precautionary blood work, after the match, and the results from those tests ultimately led to the staggering diagnosis.

“The news is shocking because it is certainly something none of us expected to hear,” Burns said. “But it is the reality of the situation. Kevin, his family, his teammates and everyone who is supporting him will deal with it and support him as best we can. He knows he has the full support of everyone involved.”

Alston joins an estimated group of 70,000 Americans living with chronic myelogenous leukemia according to the National CML Society. The genetic, slow-growing disease is controllable and treatable with a prescribed course of medication, but it is not curable at the present time. Medical advances over the past few decades ensure those measures of treatment usually lead to a normal life span.

The treatment will, at the outset, force Alston away from the Revolution lineup, but the issues presented by the prospect of replacing the dependable fullback (116 starts, including all four games this season, in just over four years) in the lineup pale in comparison to the health considerations now in play.

“The most important thing, by far, is Kevin’s health,” Burns said. “That’s the most important thing. And he’s in very good hands with our medical staff and being in Boston.”